Curie Brief
Turn on cookies to sign in
Signing in saves your progress to your Curie account. We can only do that with cookies on — turn them on to continue.
News
A new nationally representative survey finds that nearly 1 in 5 US adults experience "food noise" — persistent, intrusive thoughts about food — often or always. About half of all adults report it at least sometimes. The phenomenon is most common among women, younger adults, non-Hispanic Asian individuals, and those who struggle with loss of control over eating.
You've probably heard the term "food noise" floating around social media and GLP-1 drug conversations — but how widespread is it really? A new nationally representative survey of 1,000 US adults puts a number to it for the first time, and the results are striking. About half of American adults (51%) say they experience food noise — described as constantly thinking about food even when not hungry — at least sometimes, while nearly 1 in 5 (18%) say it happens often or always.
The study, published in Obesity Science & Practice, found that food noise isn't evenly distributed across the population. Women, adults aged 18–29, and non-Hispanic Asian participants reported it at significantly higher rates. The strongest predictor? Loss of control over eating — people who reported that experience were nearly six times more likely to also report frequent food noise.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: As GLP-1 medications gain traction partly for their ability to quiet food noise, understanding how common — and how clinically meaningful — this experience is becomes increasingly important for clinicians managing patients with disordered eating, obesity, or weight-related mental health concerns.
